In our past articles i talked about all the steps required to properly replace your old wood sash windows with energy efficient vinyl windows. I told you how to measure for the new windows. Then we discussed the removal of the wood sashes and parting bead. Finally, i told you how to install, seal, and trim the vinyl replacement windows. But, what if those old windows in your home are made of aluminum instead of wood? Is the process the same? No, it’s not the same at all. So, the next few articles are going to explain the differences between replacing wood windows versus aluminum windows.

When discussing the proper frame style for replacing the wood sash windows, i explained the difference between new construction frames versus replacement frames. When replacing aluminum windows, there is another option we have to consider regarding frame style. It’s called a “retrofit” frame. Let’s go over each frame type. First, we have the new construction frame with the nailing fin. If you choose to go this route, you have to remove the exterior around each window opening, pull out the nails holding the aluminum window to the studs, nail in the new vinyl window, apply flashing, caulk, and re-install the exterior around each window.(I get tired just talking about it!)In addition to being a whole lot of labor, you can run into major problems trying to install the exterior product around each window opening. If your home has stucco, you have to try and match the rest of the stucco. It can be done, but not by you. Even most professional stucco guys can’t get a perfect match. What if you have wood siding? Well, you can cut away 2″ of the siding around each window to get to the nail fin, then you can apply 1 X 2 or 1 X 3 trim around each window. Certainly not as much work as the stucco home, but probably more work than the average homeowner cares to tackle. What if each window is surrounded by brick? Let’s not even go there! You would have to remove the bricks, then re-install them all when finished.

Trust me, you don’t want to replace your old aluminum windows with new construction vinyl windows. You want to use either the replacement frame like the one used to replace the wood sash windows, or something called a retrofit frame , that is popular in the west where stucco is a common exterior. Since the procedure for measuring is the same regardless of the frame style chosen, this article will discuss the proper measuring procedure, and future articles will explain the difference in the installation process for replacement versus retrofit.

If you look at the portion of the aluminum frame that goes around the window opening into your surrounding walls, you will see three separate “legs” that form two pockets. The outside leg and the center leg form the first pocket. Your screen and stationary panel will be in this pocket. The center leg and inside leg form the second pocket, and your sliding panel is in that pocket. Find the “leg” that is the widest on all four sides. When measuring the width, run your tape measure from the widest leg on the left to the widest leg on the right. This should be the narrowest measurement. Then, subtract 3/8″ from that measurement. This is the width of the replacement window. Measure the height the same way. When measuring the height, measure as close to the center of the window as possible. This is especially important on windows wider than six feet, because the top wood header has a tendency to sag over time, making the center of the opening the narrowest. You don’t need to deduct 3/8″ from the height like you did on the width. 1/4″ is fine. These are the dimensions you use when ordering your vinyl window. If you have any picture windows(windows without a vent panel), there will only be two legs and one pocket. You still measure the same way.

Next week i will discuss whether your home is a candidate for retrofit frames or replacement frames.

About the Author

John Rocco has been installing
replacement windows since 1978
To learn more, visit How To Install Windows

“You Must Read this Book”

Terry Dashner…………………Faith Fellowship Church in Broken Arrow, OK 74013

As you know I have the utmost respect for Dr. D. James Kennedy. I listen to what he says. His voice helps direct America back to her founding heritageJesus Christ. I like that.

The other day I sent $30 to help support his radio and TV ministry. What I received in return is beyond good. It is really good. In response to the small gift I gave, I was sent former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama Judge Roy Moore’s new book entitled, So Help Me God.

Wow! At a time in my life when I thought that all good books had already been written and read by me, a book like this falls into my hands. Talk about inspiring, this read is a must read for anyone who stands on principle. Whether or not one agrees with Moore’s politics, this man is a man of principle, and that is inspiring. I’d like to highlight some of his thoughts made public in this wonderful book.

The book is published by Broadman & Holman Publishers in Nashville, TN and it carries the subtitle, The Ten Commandments, Judicial Tyranny, and The Battle For Religious Freedom.

Listen to this: “The same year I was busy creating the carved plaque of the Ten Commandments, the United States Supreme Court was busy taking them of the wall of a Kentucky schoolhouse. The court in Stone v. Graham stated:

“‘The Ten Commandments are undeniably a sacred text in the Jewish and Christian faith, and no legislative recitation of a supposed secular purpose can blind us to that fact…If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the school children to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey, the Commandments. However desirable this might be as a matter of private devotion, it is not a permissible state objective under the Establishment Clause.’

“How could the Supreme Court of the United States draw such a ridiculous conclusion? Surely judges and justices should regard laws against killing, adultery, stealing, lying, and disregard of parental authority as desirable rules. And certainly a callous disregard of God’s law today has fostered an atmosphere in which murder, rape, robbery, and all forms of disobedience of authority are more commonplace in public schools than they were in 1980.

“The Ten Commandments are not only a sacred text in the Jewish and Christian faiths, as the Supreme Court stated in Stone v. Graham. They are God’s revealed, divine law and the basis on which our morality depends…In the Farewell Address, George Washington, at the conclusion of his second tern as our nation’s first president, reminded the people that virtue or morality is important to the welfare of our nation, and that attempts to destroy or take lightly this foundation of popular government would be detrimental to the country. He stated, ‘Tis substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government…Who that is a sincere friend to it can look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric? Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge.’

“President Washington implied that our institutions of learning (schools) should promote the teaching of virtue or morality. Where can that virtue be found? In God’s law, the Ten Commandments!…the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment [Article III of the Northwest Ordinance stated that]…Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.’”

The “wall of separation” of church and state for America has become, according to Mr. Moore, a separation between God and American government, and that is not good. It was not the intent of the founding fathers.

Then why do we scurry to remove the sibilance of God’s law from federal properties? It started years ago in our Nation’s highest courtthe United States Supreme Court. A group of 9 have through the years ruled in opposition to our founding father’s original intent for this nationone nation under the Supreme Law of the Universe, God’s law. And who has been the driving force since WWI to make sure that we “red state heathens” are in compliance? You guessed it. It is the ACLU.

One day soon, people of this nation that have remained silent in the face of secularism and the partisan agenda of the ACLU will arise from their sleep and begin to counter the juggernaut of the ACLU. When that happens, America will awaken to another historical “Great Awakening” where the knowledge of God will flow from every fabric of its sacred halls of justice and education like the waters of the mountain tops flow to the seas.

I would encourage you to read this wonderful book and throw your prayerful support behind this man of principle. As I read about his early years at West Point where he learned as an underclassman to endure intimidation, I was encouraged and inspired. He spoke eloquently about the ridicule, while tough at the time nevertheless, prepared him for Viet Nam and his life’s call that has become a lone stand of principle on God’s law in spite of the intimidation and ridicule of the high courts and the ACLU. Although Mr. Moore is a few years older than I, I too remember the twisted-moral indifference of our troops in Viet Nam. I, too, remember and experienced the fallout of a nation that had lost its moral compass through the 1960s and early 1970s. Those were difficult times, especially in the military. I pray that we never fall back to those days.

I pray that America will keep pressing the point and praying together for the good of this nation. America is great because she is good. If she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. I wish I had said those words. Someone much smarter than I who was not even an American citizen is credited with saying those words when America was young. I would add. America is only good when she honors God’s law above all things, even her Constitution law.

Keep the faith America. Stay the course, please. Jesus one day soon right all the wrongs.

Pastor T.

Faith Fellowship Church
PO Box 1586
Broken Arrow, OK 74013

918-451-0270
tdash0355@netzero.com (devotional list sign up)

About the Author

Pastor, retired police officer, veteran of the United States Navy and father of 3 grown children.

I am reading a fantastic book on trading, first published in 1924, by Richard D. Wyckoff, titled “How I Trade and Invest in Stocks & Bonds”. Although most of the examples in the book pertain to stocks, the insights into the nature of trading are relevant no matter what instrument you choose to trade.

I am particularly drawn to the authors’ appreciation of the ebb and flow nature of markets and how this perspective can be used to great effect.

“It is difficult to over-emphasize the importance of studying the technical position, particularly when making a speculative commitment. Many people may say, “What is a weak or a strong technical position?” My reply is, in brief, that a stock is in a weak technical position on the bull side when it has been purchased and is held by a large number of outside speculators; when most of these are looking for a profit; when the price of the stock has advanced to a point where no further buying can be stimulated for the time being. It stands to reason that when buying power is exhausted a stock must decline, no matter how strong its finances, management or earning power.”

“On the other hand, a stock is in a weak technical position on the short side when the bears have exhausted their ammunition by selling all they can afford and when the buying power of investment and speculative purchasers is such that it resists the pressure of the bears; in other words, when demand overcomes supply. The weakness in such a position is found in the fact that all those who are short are potential bulls; they must, sooner or later, cover their commitments in order to close their trades. They do not wish to remain short indefinitely.”…. “Bears, after they have sold short are an element of strength, not of weakness.”

Perhaps the nature of all markets is best described by the Chinese Yin Yang symbol.

In every bull move, and in every bear decline, are the seeds of their own destruction.

Malcolm Robinson
LIFFE Pit Trader & Electronic Trader
InstinctiveTrader.com

India is a huge country with over one billion residents, but their airline market is not one of the biggest in the world so finding discount flights to India can sometimes be challenging. Being on the other side of the world from the United States doesn’t help much either. Usually you can get decent fares from London to India, but also from Paris or Frankfurt since the major European airlines are usually your best bet.You can also fly on one of the new Middle Eastern airlines that will stop in the UAE or Kuwait. They’ll often have the best fares from Europe, so consider searching the airlines that connect through that region. The two cheapest Indian cities to fly into are Mumbai, which used to be called Bombay, and Delhi, which is sometimes called New Delhi by people who don’t realize New Delhi is just one district in Delhi. Air India has good deals and they are reliable too, which is a bit of a contrast to nearly everything else you’ll find when you do land in the country. The Taj Mahal is in the city of Agra, which is south of Delhi, so if that’s your main goal fly into that city.

PCDI | Professional Career Development Institute -
The College and University Alternative for Working Professionals Pursuing Their Degrees

Are you a college dropout? Are you tired of being passed over for promotions because you don’t have your college “degree”? How many times have you wanted to apply for a job, but the ad said “no need to apply unless you have a degree”?

Unfortunately, this is happens more frequently than not. The federal government and other employers are notorious for hiring people with degrees in ANYTHING, even if it does not relate to their current job, just so they can market people with degrees.

What does all this mean to you? In general, you can expect to earn about 4 to 5 percent more with a two-year college degree (i.e., associate’s degree) than you would with only a high-school/GED or vocational school degree. A bachelor’s degree will typically bring you a salary increase of about an additional 13 to 15 percent.

So, even though you may have the practical experience to do a job, you have a much better chance of getting the job — and the money that goes with it — if you have a degree of some sort.

Where are you supposed to find time to go back to school while you are working and trying to earn a living? Well there are several options to the traditional brick and mortar colleges and universities of the past. While many community colleges and universities offer night and weekend classes now, you can also go online, enroll in a distance learning course, and earn your college degree from the comfort of your own home.

One institution that allows you to do just that is the Professional Career Development Institute ( PCDI ). PCDI offers distance learning associate degree courses such as:

1. Accounting
2. Business Management
3. Computer Information Mgmt.
4. Criminal Justice
5. Early Childhood Education
6. Health Care Management
7. Human Resource Management
8. Marketing
9. Paralegal Studies
10. Psychology
11. Security Management

They also offer Distance Learning Master Degree Programs in:

1. Business Administration
2. Criminal Justice
3. Health Care Administration
4. Human Resource Mgmt.

Unlike courses that you take at a community college or university, PCDI allows you to complete your degree at your own pace, when you have time so you don’t have to feel rushed, hassled or like your have an impending deadline looming over you.

Getting a degree can change your life — financially, emotionally and professionally. Go ahead and start the rest of your life today!

Christina Khan is a mother of a preschooler that attended college while working full time. She has successfully taken online college courses and recommends them. You can visit her website to find out more about PCDI Online College and University Degrees.

Christina also runs a baby birth announcement website with other parenting tips and articles. You can visit her site by going to MyPreciousBaby.com

If a mortgage could be paid off in five years or less, without it costing homeowners an extra cent, why wouldn’t every homeowner in America be doing it? Because they don’t know, or because they’re too wise? Although the former may be the case for many, I certainly hope the latter is the answer for most.

A real estate finance consultant company, who shall remain nameless here, claims it has the secret to paying off your mortgage in five years or less, without you paying any more on your monthly payment or adding to the principal mortgage of your real estate loan. They call it an inverse mortgage.

Now, this company, which is not a mortgage brokerage or a bank, claims that all you have to do is pay your mortgage payment every three weeks, instead of every four. In addition to this one tiny change, you’ll need to go to work for the company, recruiting other people to do the same. Of course, they say this is not a pyramid structure, although the way you cut into your mortgage and build wealth is by banking some of each payment that comes in for everyone you recruit, after the initial three. Incidentally, this company will take one of your payments at the end of the year for hiring you to recruit more people into their program.

Hmm, not a pyramid scheme or multi-level marketing? I don’t claim to be an expert in these areas, but I certainly know the basic structure, and you probably do too. Doesn’t a program requiring you to get others to buy something with the idea of you receiving a residual benefit from each recruit sound a lot like multi-level marketing? It does to me.

I may be a skeptic, but there are a few basic problems with the inverse mortgage and with this real estate finance program.

1. This company has been around for less than one year, and after some exhaustive research, I can’t find one person who has ever actually made money or cut into their mortgage as quickly as the company says one can.

2. In the last 20 years, there hasn’t been a revolutionary idea for reducing your mortgage, without paying more or without doing something like a bi-weekly mortgage (a completely legitimate, if unnecessary, approach to mortgage reduction). Why is it that this new company - not even mortgage people - has suddenly come up with something that true experts with 50 or more years of experience in the industry have not?

3. This one is the most alarming reason to be skeptical. In addition to the strange notion of recruiting people to take part in this program, the sponsoring company wants you to turn over your bank account information, so it can debit your account monthly to supposedly pay your mortgage.

So, is the inverse mortgage a scam? I can’t say unequivocally that it is, because I don’t have any true evidence to say so. The many years of experience in mortgage and investment real estate that I do have, though, tell me to beware of any program that looks too good to be true. This one does.

Mark Barnes is an investment real estate and real estate finance expert. Get his free mortgage finance course at http://www.winningthemortgagegame.com. Mark is also the author of the new novel, The League, a shocking, sports-related conspiracy. Learn more about his suspense thriller at http://www.sportsnovels.com.